parts of montgomery county into frederick county, maryland. below freezing. washington county into alleghany and garrett and much of the shenandoah valley from near martinsburg through winchester. temperatures are generally near the freezing mark on this wednesday morning. by 6:00 a.m., still maybe a few flurries or sprinkles around mainly south and east of the metro area. by noontime, only the upper 30s and hovering maybe near 40 for a brief time early afternoon with partly sunny sky and a northwest breeze. gusting to around 15 miles an hour. by 5:00 p.m., we'll be back down to the mid 30s and a partly cloudy sky with a northwest wind diminishing. i'll be back in ten minutes with hometown forecast. a look at your traffic on this wednesday morning, mike cremedas in for danella. mike in. >> good morning, tom. things are looking great. no serious backups on the inner or outer loop. looking great in virginia. let take a live look heading

east at suddenly road. also looking great at spout run parkway. it's about a 12-minute ride on eastbound 66 from the fairfax county parkway to the beltway at 55 miles an hour. a deal is in place. the house voted in favor of a measure late last night. taxes will not be going up for 98% of americans. we're talking tax hikes for some and still a lot of unanswered questions, especially when it comes to spending. those making more than $400,000 a year and households pulling in more than $450,000 will see a

15% to 20% tax increase. as for the income tax cuts for everyone else, those will continue. the bill extends jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed for another year impacting an estimated 2 million americans. $109 billion worth of across the board cuts to domestic and defense budgets, there's still a sticking point. the deal delays pending cuts to the pentagon for another two months kicking the issue of sequestration down the road. it's not a perfect bill but the timing was crucial as a new congress is set to be sworn in on thursday. >> thanks to the votes of democrats and republicans in congress, i will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of americans while preventing a middle class tax hike that could have sent the economy back into recession and obviously had a severe impact on families all across america. now, while the tax package passed will protect 98% of americans from income tax

increases, most of you will still end up paying more in federal. that's because a temporary cut in the social security payroll tax just expired. at the live desk, angie goff, news 4. 5:03 now. markets are reacting positively to the fiscal cliff vote. stocks are up 2%. european stocks are also up right now. this congressional term will end without the house voting on a bill to help victims of sandy. new york area lawmakers from both party are furious over house republicans leaders decision not to hold the vote. this congress term end at noon tomorrow. house speaker john boehner's spokesman says the congressman is committed to getting the bill passed this month. that isn't good enough for some of his colleagues from new york. >> absolutely inexcusable. we have a moral obligation to hold this vote. the people who are out of their homes and who are cold and without food, the people who lost their jobs. they don't have the time to wait.

we cannot walk away from our responsibilities. >> it is our obligation not as democrats, not as republicans but as americans to make sure that we come to the aid of americans. >> more than $2 billion of federal money has been spent so far on relief efforts. fema still has more than $4 billion in its disaster relief fund to cover costs until early spring. montgomery county courts will begin holding their first public same-sex marriages. since midnight yesterday, gay couples around the state have held private ceremonies. the courts reopen for the first time in the new year and the circuit court clerk says she already has four ceremonies lined up. maryland is the ninth state to legalize same-sex marriage along with d.c. also this morning, the d.c. council will hold an inauguration for six members marking the start of their new session. independent david gros owe is the only new face on council. he beat out michael brown in november. re-elected council members,

orange, evans, bowser, alexander and miriam barry will begin new terms. there's an organizational meeting assigning council members to committees later today. the governor will file a federal lawsuit challenging the stiff sanctions against penn state. they were handed down in the wake of jerry sandusky's child sex abuse scandal. the penalty includes a $60 million fine against penn state. it would be used to finance child abuse prevention efforts on a national level. state lawmakers object to that money being spent outside pennsylvania. it is coming up on six minutes after 5:00. trying to get life back to normal. we'll tell you what the children of sandy hook elementary can expect when they return to the classroom. also ahead, the brazen crime that left a apple store cleaned out of merchandise. despite what your mom told you, there's no direct link to winter. we'll show you why, though, the

flu bug always strikes at this time of year. bundle up this morning, don't catch the flu. get ready when you head out to work. how long this chilly weather will stick around with weather and traffic on the 1s, next. ♪ i -- i got it, i got it made ♪ ♪ i got it made, i got it made ♪ ♪ i got it made fresh at subway ♪ ♪ breakfast made the way i say ♪ [ male announcer ] at subway, you got it made. try a steak, egg white & cheese, tricked out any way you want. subway. eat fresh.

welcome back at 5:08. engineers at virginia tech figured out why the flu is

seasonal. in lab studies, they found the virus flourishes when humidity levels are below 50%. when the humidity rises, the virus is not able to infect as easily. however, that doesn't mean that you can't catch the flu in the summer. engineers found the virus can thrive when humidity is close to 100%. >> you catch a cold when it's really, really humid or less than 50% humidity, which is more likely to be the case in the winter months. >> but you can catch it any time, really, right? >> because the kids are bringing it all the time. >> there you go. i was watching that video, oh, my god, please stop coughing on me. >> you can catch it just watching. there is the sky over washington now. that's a live view from the nbc4 city camera. all is calm and quiet. as we get back to work and school on this wednesday morning, there may be a few scattered flurries in the air. if you're about to step out the door, you may have a few flurries floating down.

these are passing to the south and east. southern maryland, northern neck and virginia, lower part of the eastern shore, that's where most of the flurry activity is. may be a few scattered flurries due to much colder air beginning to push on in. these areas, you see in the lighter lavender are in the teens from northern pennsylvania all the way into ohio and indiana. this is going to be our source direction of our wind today. drawing in that cold air, on a northwest breeze, right now around the metro area, we're generally in the mid 30 eads. but our northern western suburbs are down to near freezing. that includes leesburg by 6:30 this morning at freezingment maybe a few breaks in the clouds by then. and then by noontime, partly sunny but only in the mid to low 30s there and holding steady in the mid 30s there through the rest of the afternoon. farther south and east, in the metro air rah by mid afternoon. the northwest wind blustery into the afternoon and evening hours. the wind will diminish a bit.

but a cold night tonight and a cold pattern continuing. the latest on that, your seven-day outlook, that's coming up in about ten minutes. now a look at traffic. danella is off today. we have mike cremedas in. >> good morning, tom. still looking good on the inner and outer loop of the beltway. we have a small issue before glebe road. a right lane shut down. not in camera, but not causing a serious delay right now. also looking great at the 14th street bridge. that's northbound side. it's 12-minute right on northbound 395 to the 14th street bridge at 55 miles an hour. we'll take a look at 50 next. all right. thank you, mike. it is now 5:11. why the popularity of the bieber is being blamed for an accident in california. also ahead, lingering problems. why athletes could be at further risk for injury even after their ri[ female announcer ] there are lots of different ways

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15 after the hour now. today the survivors of the school shooting in newtown, connecticut, will attend an orientation at their new school. the classrooms at the chalk hill school in connecticut were redone to look just like the rooms at sandy hook elementary. school officials home a familiar environment will help the kid make a smoother transition to the new school. sandy hook elementary school became the scene of a crime on december 14th when adam lanza killed 27 people before killing himself. meanwhile, the connecticut lawyer who filed a $100 million lawsuit on behalf of a surviving student has withdrawn that claim. he is evaluating new evidence.

the lawsuit was filed last week on behalf of a 6-year-old girl claiming the state failed to adequately protect the students. he may refile in the future. stafford county public schools. the sheriff's office plans to have daily patrols following the shooting in newtown, connecticut. it's the first time the county called for daily police patrols at schools. the sheriffs office says it's a precautionary measure and not in response to any threat. the parents of a first grader suspended for pointing his finger like a gun. the boy is a student at roscoe nix elementary school in silver spring. the family's attorney says the 6-year-old was playing with friends, not making any threats. >> keep in mind that a 6-year-old is presumed not to be able to form the intent to commit a crime. >> the school system will not

comment on individual disciplinary matters. however, a spokesman tells news 4, generally with younger students, they make sure that children and parents know about behavior that meads to change and understand the consequences if it does not. we're following a developing story right now out of alaska. strong winds and high seas preventing crews from assessing the damage to an oil drilling ship. it ran aground. that ship is carrying more than 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel. some other fluids as well. it broke away from a tow line on monday and ran aground near an unpopulated island. a coast guard plane and helicopter were able to fly over the ship yesterday. at this point, it does not appear that the ship is leaking any fuel. 5:17 now. new this morning, a paparazzo was hit by a car and killed after taking photos of justin bieber's car in los angeles. detectives say the pop star was not inside the white ferrari at the time of the crash. the sports car was parked on the side of the road. the photographer was crossing the street when he was hit.

no charges are expected to be filed against the driver. in the day ahead, some survivors of a bus crash that killed nine people in oregon are expected to head back to canada. however, some of them do not want to ride another bus. yesterday, they collected their passports and other property that was spread across a rural highway. the tour bus carrying 49 people was headed back to british columbia from las vegas sunday when the bus hit a guardrail and flew down an embankment and rolled over at least once. at least 14 people remain in the hospital. 18 after the hour. police in france say four armed robbers made off with quite a haul from an apple store on new year's eve. the mass thieves broke into the paris store three hours after closing time. they made off with more than a million dollars worth of items. an apple spokesperson says the company is still trying to figure out how much was lost. doctors expect secretary of state hillary clinton to make a full recovery from a blood clot.

she's been in the hospital since sunday when an mri revealed the potentially dangerous clot behind her right ear. clinton got the tests done after fainting last month and suffering a concussion. doctors gave her blood thinners to help shrink the clot. her husband and daughter chelsea were both visiting the hospital. this morning, we are learning a little more about the condition of venezuelan president hugo chavez. vice president ma dur a told cuban television that chavez has "the same strength as always." . chavez is recovering from cancer surgery in havana. he's suffered several complications since then including a respiratory infection and it's unclear when he will return to venezuela. for the first time a study shows a certain type of sugar can lead to overeating. scientists at yale university said mri testing showed fructose can trigger changes in the brain making patients not recognize

had they are full. it's the sugar found in processed foods and soda. when test patients drank similar sugar, their brain recognized the intake of calories. this test is small bnd and more research needs to be done. one teen's medical case raises new concerns about young athletes returning to sports too soon after a head injury. doctors called it second impact syndrome. researchers at indiana university treated a 17-year-old football player who suffered a head injury even though his ct scan was clear, he still had headaches and dizziness. despite the symptoms, he returned to the field and they found blood filling his brain and it caused damage when he was hit again. the teen spent 100 days in the hospital and is still in a wheelchair. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. tom kierein telling us if the cold weather will amount to

anything else. >> you'll need your warmest winter coat this morning. there's a live view from the nbc4 hd city camera showing a calm condition this morning. dry pavement much of the region. although, there are a few scattered flurries trying to reach the ground. this area in lighter gray, we have a few flurries in fairfax county, southern loudoun and northern prince william. southern montgomery, the district and northern prince george's county anne arundel county. this is drifting off to the south and east and behind that drier, colder air is beginning to push in. in fact, we may have the cold weather with us. watch out for students at the bus stops. if you're waiting for very long, you definitely need your winter coat. down to 30 degrees at gaithersburg. at or below freezing to hagerstown and cumberland. the panhandle of west virginia and the shenandoah valley near the freezing mark. most locations under the thicker

clouds are above freezing from manassas to culpeper, fredericksburg and la plata. it's generally in the mid 30s, as well as on the eastern shore, mid 30s. that's where they're getting a few scattered sprinkles and flurries begin to dry out as they head off to the east. here's the four-day forecast. some sunshine breaking out later this morning, after the morning sprinkles and flurries. n.ghs only reaching upper 30s not much of a warmup. and that blustery northwest wind will settle down, down to the low to mid 20s much of the region. partly sunny on thursday with an afternoon high around 40. upper 20s on friday morning. mostly sunny on friday. afternoon highs mid 40s. another cold morning on saturday. partly sunny saturday with highs mid 40s. partly sunny for the 'skins game on sunday. should be up around 50 degrees mid-afternoon. then late afternoon when they're playing, back down to the 20s and 30sment sunny monday and

partly cloudy tuesday. highs 40s monday, near 50 on tuesday. i'll be back in ten minutes. a look at traffic now. mike cremedas in for danella. >> good morning, tom. things are looking good on the inner and outer loops. an incident on the eastbound side of 50. richie highway, the eastbound side during the morning rush hour. no serious backups there. westbound 50 in maryland looking good as you head towards the beltway. let's take a live loob at the scene of the accident where no serious backups at ritchey road heading west. the approach to the beltway, a seven-minute ride from 301 to 495 at 64 miles an hour. you're also looking great on the metro, the marc trains and the virginia railway express. eun? mike, thank you. 5:23 now. good news for cats fans. the nhl could move closer today to ending their month long lockout. the league and players association have exchanged several new collective

bargaining proposals and both sides are said to have made concessio concessions. they're scheduled to meet again to go over the latest counteroffer. the nhl commissioner gary bettman is entering the talks with guarded optimism. >> the fact that we're involved in a continuous process is something that i'm glad to see. but we're clearly not done yet. >> a possible hiccup in the talks could come at midnight tonight when the players association has to decide approximate they will disband and file lawsuits against the league. the nhl hopes to avoid that and start a shortened 48-game season by january 19th. it looks like the wizards are making little progress in the win column in the new year. they fell to the dallas mavericks last night 103-94. rookie bradley beal led the team with a career high 22 point, helped washington to a 14-point lead in the second quarter. but the wizards couldn't hold on. it is their 25th loss this season. all right. the redskins get back to work

today as they prepare for their first playoff game in five years. they'll practice for the first time since clinching the nfc east by beating the cowboys sunday night. doesn't that sound good. still sounds good. today is also your first chance to get your hands on shirts, hats and other gear that celebrates the division title. as for sunday's game against the seahawks, it's sold out. we found some ticket available on stub hub, the cheapest seats going for $132 each. kyle shanahan may be the rick tim of his own success. he could be a candidate for one of the nfl's seven head coaching vacancies. but his father, head coach mike shanahan does not want his assistants interviewing for other jobs while the 'skins are still in the playoffs. kyle shanahan received praise for designing the redskins creative offense which features rookie quarterback, robert griffin iii. >> when the head coach is your dad, there's added pressure. >> definitely conflict there. the boss says no interviews.

you got to respect that if you want to continue to be respected in the league. >> coach shanahan is receiving a lot of pays for the way the redskins have turned their season around. so exciting. >> even if he's offered a head coaching job, someone will offer him a little more longer to stick around. >> don't want him to leave the redskins, not now. >> 37 degrees. coming up, a local man has millions of new reasons to be happy about the new year. also ahead, after months of fighting, congress has finally made a deal concerning the fiscal cliff. the impact the bill will have on you. >> scattered snow flurries are moving through the area right now. if it's a sign of more winter weather to come next we'll find out with weather and traffic on

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looking at the stories making held lines at 5:29. after a lot of back and forth, a bill to avoid tax hikes is on the way to the president's desk. lawmakers from new york are lashing out at fellow members of congress after failing to pass a bill for superstorm sandy aid. a prince george's county church trying to pinpoint the cause of a fire that damaged a building. more on that thout the morning. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome back on this wednesday,

january 2, 2013. a live look out over the nation's capitol this morning. 37 chilly degrees outside our studios. want to let you know what to expect. >> storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein here with your forecast. good morning, tom. >> good morning. you need your warmest winter coat. had morning, it's turning colder. we're going to be into a colder pattern the next couple of days. right now, we've got a lot of cloudiness. the clouds are producing a few scattered flurries right in washington. part of northern virginia, including fairfax county. and then into northern anne arundel and northern prince george's. this is moving off south and east. the areas in green are a few sprinkles of light rain, maybe mixing with flurries. st. mary's county and across the potomac. this is rapidly drifting south and east. farther west, cloudiness but much drier air moving in from the midwest. that should clear the clouds out and we'll get sunshine breaking

out this afternoon. right now, it's turning colder. the areas in dark blue are near the freezing mark. including our northern, western suburbs, into the mountains where many locations are in the 20s. it's colder farther west and north. only in the teens there. that cold air coming in later today and throughout the day. not much of a warmup with a nest necessary breeze gusting and e. around 15 miles per hour. we'll have the sunshine breaking out. it will stay cold. we'll be in the 30s the rest of the day. sunrise at 7:27. sunset at 4:58. i am back in ten minutes with another hometown forecast. danella off today. mike cremedas in. >> good morning, tom. things are looking great on the inner and outer loop of the beltway. an accident eastbound dulles toll road at wolf trap. two right lanes are shut down. incident not in camera. let check the delays right here at sunset hills. no serious backup. also looking great at lieu winsville road on the dulles toll road.

a seven-minute from hunter mill to the beltway on 267 headed east aught 54 miles an hour. 5:2 now. a deal to limit the damage caused by going over the fiscal cliff is in the hands of president obama. the house passed a measure late last night that will keep taxes from going up for 98% of americans. the president has said that he will sign the bill into law. nbc's tracie potts is live on capitol hill now with more. tracie, good morning. >> 257, that's how many democrats mostly and some republicans as well voted in favor of this bill. it means that lawmakers are now headed, we saw them headed all to capitol hill early this morning. the president heads back to hawaii to continue his vacation that was broken while they tried to negotiate these tax increases, stop them from happening. this bill will extend unemployment for 2 million people who would have lost their checks beginning this year. middle class tax breaks and prevent a tax hike for 98% of

americans. the fight is not over. in february, the debt limit needs to be raised so america can continue to pay its bills. republicans likely will insist on cutting spending. >> we can't simply cut our way to prosperity. cutting spending has to go hand in hand with further reforms to our tax code. so that the wealthiest corporations and individuals can't take vapg of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most americans. >> no word yet on when the president will sign the fiscal cliff bill. but we do know that even though it came a day late after the new year's deadline, it was just in time for markets reopening this morning. eun? >> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us. tracie, thank you. despite this bill, you may notice your paycheck is a little smaller this year. that's because a temporary cut in a payroll tax just expired. the social security payroll tax will jump back to 6.2% for 160 million americans. it had been 4.2%.

some banks say that could cut consumer spending by as much as $100 billion this year. that's less than the 115 to $125 billion in revenue it would cost the government each year. it's up to the next congress to approve federal aid for victims of hurricane sandy. new york area lawmakers are furious that house republican leaders did not decide to hold a vote before this congressional term ends tomorrow. one new york congresswoman feels betrayed by the decision. another congressman calls it "absolute disgrace." john boehner's spokesman said he's still committed to getting a bill passed this month. the taliban says the planned withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan is similar to the pullout from vietnam. the militant group calls the withdrawal a "declare victory and run strategy." they say the transfer of security to afghan forces is nearly a reteet similar to the u.s. withdrawal from south vietnam in 1975.

american led nate hoe trieps are scheduled to be out by the end of 2014. although the u.s. will keep a small presence in the country. thousands of pilgrims continue to make their way to a holy ti in iraq despite a week of violence. most of those killed were religious pilgrims on a journey. tensions between shiite, kurdish and sunni factions in iraq have been on the rise. same sex couples in montgomery county can now hold public courthouse ceremonies. gay marriage became legal yesterday at midnight. but they had to be private ceremonies because the courthouse was closed for the new year's holiday. the circuit court clerk already has four ceremonies lined up and couples are thrilled for the opportunity. >> jim and i met in 1977. at that time i really didn't believe that gay people would ever see the day that they could marry. >> maryland is the ninth state to legalize same-sex marriages along with the district of columbia. jackpot.

a maryland man visiting atlantic city won nearly $4 million on a progressive slot machine. the man does not want his name released. we're told he was playing at the bore gad a hotel casino and spa last sunday night when he hit it big there. the $3,843,951 jackpot is one of the largest jackpots in the history there. that's on the boardwalk up there i think. >> not an -- on slots. not blackjack. that is a paysimazinamazing. still to come, how one man's fly by of his own homelanded a would-be criminal in jail. cold temperatures were not enough to keep these people out of the river. >> it definitely feels like january out there. as you step out the door, how long are we stuck in this

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because your efforts help komen serve millions of women and men facing breast cancer every year. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information and receive a free 3-day bracelet today. it was 3 days of pure joy. ♪ and it's beautiful there is a good reason for this. take a look at this chilly start to the new rear for some brave souls in maryland. about 400 people purposely, willingly ran into the cold potomac river. this is in washington county. oh, my. >> a bunny among them apparently. this is near hagerstown. the water temperature for the polar plunge here, about 33

degrees. they call this the tenth annual freezing for a reason. that event raised money for an animal humane society in that area. similar fundraisers were held in icy spots across the country to kick off the new year. then they stand around like once you get out of the water. >> splashing, having fun. >> no. >> i bet you some of these people, even if it wasn't for charity, they'd still do it just to say they did it. coming up on 41 minutes after the hour on this 2nd day of the new year. >> that's right. tom kierein has your forecast now. starting with weather and traffic on the 1s. tom? >> i just towelled off from that plunge. oe map, the potomac river water temperatures are only a bit above freezing. in the region, temperatures are dropping. the air temperatures as we have colder air surging in on northwesterly breezes. it's producing a few scattered flurries trying to reach the ground. most of them not in the district. southern montgomery into prince

george's and anne arundel. in green and pink, maybe a few flurries mixing in with a few sprinkles of light rain where it's above freezing there. it's now below freezing. northern, western suburbs into the mountains. reagan national at 37. the hometown forecast germantown, northern montgomery county. by 7:00 a.m., upper 20s there. by noontime, only a little above freezing. and much of the area will stay in the 30s the rest of the day. around the metro area, we may climb to the upper 30s by mid-afternoon with sunshine breaking out. the northwest wind will diminish tonight. we'll look at the next seven days in ten minutes. a look at traffic with mike cremedas in for danella. >> good morning, tom. no major backups. we still have that accident eastbound dulles road at wolf trap. two right lanes shut down. no serious backups. bw parkway in maryland. southbound bw parkway moving at 55 miles an hour. live look at 95 in maryland,

216. things are looking great. worry-free on the beltway just east of 650. it's about a ten-minute ride on southbound 95 from 216 to the beltway at 64 miles an hour. aaron, wrun. it's 37 degrees right now. what could be to blame for a fire that left a church heavily damaged. how a pilot's fly-by of his how[ female announcer ] his send a loved one a free kleenex® care pack of soothing essentials. go to kleenex.com and enter the code from specially-marked bundles of kleenex® tissues. because only america's softest tissue turns a gesture into a complete gift of care.

it is 5:45 now. an outpouring of support for prince william county police officer killed in a crash. hundreds attended a candlelight vigil last night for chris young. the 35-year-old died on monday while responding to a call. his department motorcycle collided with a minivan in bristow causing the fiery crash you see here. those who knew young say he was known for his infectious smile

and uplifting personality. >> he always had that positive, you know, just attitude about everything. it was really encouraging and it was a real great role model for the younger officers on the department. officer young is the third to die on the job in the history of the prince william county police department. the two people in the minivan involved in this crash were not hurt. no word if they'll face charges. family and friends are remembering a washington, d.c. hoops legend. they held a vigil for jammar board at the berry farms. he was known to many as the silent assassin in basketball circles. he's best remembered for a game in the goodman league two years ago in which he scored 75 points, mostly three-pointers. his funeral is expected to happen on saturday. details are still being worked out, though. his death is still under investigation. 5:46 now. today in manassas a death row inmate could be released from prison after 11 years in prison.

justin wolfe is serving time for the murder for hire death of a drug dealer. back in july, a judge threw out wolfe's conviction saying prosecutors knowingly used false testimony from the actual gunman. the judge ordered a retile within 120 days but that never happened. prosecutors tried to appeal the ruling but an appeals court upheld the decision. now it's up to a judge in prince william county to decide if wolfe can be released. in prince george's county, a teacher is due in court on accusations that he had a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old student. police arrested 48-year-old king last month. they say the student recently came forward. he taught in fort washington and moved to another school in august. the relationship with that student went on for several months. king is on administrative leave now. today, teachers staff and students who survived the school shooting in newtown, connecticut will attend an orientation at their new school.

the classrooms in monroe were redone to look just like the rooms at sandy hook elementary. school officials hope a familiar environment helps the kids to make a smoother transition. sandy hook school became a crime scene when adam lanza killed 27 people before killing himself. this morning, there will be extra security measures at two school districts in virginia. beginning today, deputies will add patrols at the elementary schools. resource officers already staffed at the middle and high schools and in stafford county, the sheriff's office plans to add daily checks at all public schools. n. this in the wake of the newtown connecticut school shooting. it's the first time the county has called for daily police patrols at schools. both districts say it's a precautionary measure, not a response to any threat. metro is looking over bus surveillance video after a woman was stabbed and another beaten. police are looking for four men.

the attack happened yesterday morning on a 93 bus heading to congress heights. the group of men boarded the bus in adams morgan. police say that two women got into an argument with one of the men and that's when it escalated out of control. both are expected to make full recoveries. investigators are trying to figure out what caused this massive tire in prince george's county. witnesses sent these photos showing flames shooting from a home at student drive in clinton. the fire started just after 6:00 last night. it was so intense, firefighters were forced to fight the flames from outside. no one was hurt. the house was vacant at the time. this morning, investigators will be back on the scene of a church fire in prince george's county. they're trying to figure out if it was an accident or a hate crime. that fire broke out yesterday at first wesleyan church in oxen hill. firefighters tell news 4 there was a power outage at the church affecting the entire neighborhood on new year's eve. >> real possibility that when that power was reenergized. something could have happened.

something could have been left on, something could have had a power surge. the fire did more than $100,000 in damage. this morning, george washington university students and staff are remembering a long time leader. lloyd elliott died yesterday at the hospital. he served as the school's president from 1965 to 1988. elliott led the construction of several buildings, including three library on the foggy bottom campus. the school of international affairs is named after elliott. he's a navy veteran of world war ii. he was 94 years old. county leaders are hoping to influence whether pepco is granted a proposed rate hike. the county sent -- asking they be allowed to intervene in the rate request. leaders say with more than 300,000 pepco customers in the county, they deserve a seat at the table. pepco asked for the more than $60 million rate increase in november. it would add about $7 to the

average monthly bill. a chance fly-over lands a stafford, virginia man in jail. pilot david zet ner and his wife fly over their house on the way to the airport for their trip to look at their property from the sky. this time they spotted a man casing the place. >> going around to the windows, opening doors or trying to open doors, looking in windows. and pretty well surveying the house. >> they watched as gary hains hooked up their trailer to their truck and drove off. they followed him in the air until they knew the direction he was headed and that's when they called police. he was arrested about 40 minutes later. >> an interesting way to catch a criminal in your plane. hop in the plane and follow him. >> here they thought they were doing it out of tradition. tlbs a reason for it. >> 5:51 is our time. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here now. looking at cold air sticking around for a while.

>> and a few flurries in the air this morning. students and teachers heading back to school, looking at the sky. oh, is this a snow day? no, no it's not. just a light flurry day. >> too bad. >> no schools are canceled. back to work and school after the holidays. capitol hill under a cloudy sky. we've had only a few scattered light flurries coming down right around washington. parts of northern virginia. nearby suburbs over the last hour. 37 and cloudy at reagan national. the wind picking up a little bit. it's going to increase to around 15 miles an hour later today. meanwhile, there at reagan national, the warmest year on record as well as at dulles, 2012. these are the preliminary statistics. at about 7.3 inches below average for precipitation but 3.4 degrees above average making it the warmest year on record at reagan national as well as dulles armt. the final numbers are being

crunched. we'll get those numbers to you as soon as we have them. a few of the scattered flurries still suspended before they reach the ground. they're beginning to dissipate. the cloud cover is thinning out a bit. sun will be breaking out around sunrise. farther north and west, only in the 20s from northern prince george's into northern montgomery. howard county. frederick, washington and maryland. it is in the upper 20s near 30 now. and northern virginia, from western fairfax into loudoun, shenandoah valley, panhandle of the mountains, upper 20s to near 30 as well. your morning commute, sunrise 7:27. by 7:00 a.m., a few sprinkles south and east of washington. otherwise dissipating. cold, the low and mid 30s. by noontime for your lunch-hour, not much of a warmup. we'll get the sunshine out and have the northwest wind blustery. only mid and upper 30s. hovering near 40 during a brief time in the afternoon.

partly sunny and partly sunny tomorrow, another cold day. down to the low and mid 20s tomorrow morning. afternoon highs near 40. cold start on friday. sunshine friday afternoon into the mid 40s. more of the same on saturday, though, with increasing clouds. partly sunny on sunday. good weather for the 'skins game. afternoon highs near 50. work and school on monday and tuesday, highs 40s, monday near 50 on tuesday. in fat that nell a is mike cremed cremedas. >> still dealing with the traffic on wolf trap. two right lanes are blocked. heavy delays right in urbana. let's talk a live look at the camera. slow traffic on southbound side heading away from your screen. but after urbana clears up, things are looking good as you make the approach to the beltway. eun? 5:54 now. after being out of order for seven months, the elevators at the bethesda station are set to open this friday. before the elevators can open,

they have to pass an inspection today. the upgrade project was expected to take four months. people are thrilled the elevators will finally be back in service. >> i usually take my bike on the bus. i would actually rather have an elevator. this is doable. just a pain. >> the next big project, is a full replace. the three escalators. the details are being worked out. construction scheduled to start early next year. 5:55 now. after months of high gas prices and a struggling economy, sales of pickup trucks may finally be revving up again. cnbc's shart i can't brantley has the stories. >> good morning, aaron. the u.s. auto industry is expected to see a big pickup in sales this year. the wall street journal says new vehicle registration is a key indicator of sales are expected to top 15 million.

according to the auto forecasting firm polk, last year sales are on track to hit 14.4 million. analysts say pickup trucks will be back in vogue as gm, ford and toyota launch new vehicles or refresh existing models. meanwhile. the super bowl is about a month away and cbs has sold nearly all of the ads for the game. there are two 30-second spots left. with the ads selling for a record $3.8 million each. and bigger may be better this year. this will be the first super bowl with three commercials that are longer than one minute. guys, there are a few new entries this year. soda stream, and clothing company guilden. the commercials are definitely worth watching during the game. >> often the big entertainment during the game. thank you. approximate you're looking to save catch if the future, there are four things expected to cost less in 2013.

according to the wall street journal, t price of used cars is expected to go down. that's because more used cars are coming to the market and should drop prices. cable and satellite tv may not be dropping prices but more people are ditching pay television subscriptions for free and cheaper streaming options. the price of flat screen tv's are expected to go down. fewer people are buying televisions and competition has increased. the price of e books should soften. a unique piece of american history will be honored. the emancipation proclamation forever stamp goes on sale. it's a limited edition stamp saying hence forward shall be free taken from the historic document. it marks 150 years since lincoln signed the proclamation. it freed slaves in rebel states. the national archives displayed the document for a couple of days here. still ahead, why more money will be coming out of your paycheck even with the fiscal

cliff agreement. >> plus anger from several members of the house, one

breaking news this morning. congress pulling us back from the fiscal cliff. the details of a deal and